Spec: Mojo vs Louis By Bunicula (bunicula@northnet.org) Okay you all. Since there is some whispers about spec withdrawal going around I'll post this tiny spec I wrote. Most of you on my mailing list already got it. But those few souls who aren't on it might enjoy it. If carnage of perfectly good furniture upsets you then you better not read this. :) --------- This is a work of speculative fiction and is purely hypothetical and not intended for publication or release outside of the alt.books.anne-rice newsgroup. No infringement of any copyrights held by Anne Rice or Random House/Knopf is intended. WARNING! PROBABLY CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ALL VAMPIRE CHRONICLE BOOKS UP TO TALE OF THE BODY THIEF. Our little home in the Rue Royale was much the same as it had been so many centuries ago. Once we had managed to get all the redecorating finished one could imagine he was still in the early 1800's of our time. Louis had done most of the finishing touches. Tracked down antique furniture and paintings to dress up the rooms. He and David spent weeks on redecorating David's room. All this I watched from night to night with satisfaction. I played Mozart or Haydn on the stereo. Now, that's something we never had before in the house. The sound of a full orchestra in the parlour. Sometimes the music would make the glittering crystal of the chandeliers rattle beautifully. But usally by that point Mr du Lac would come into the room and give me his "look" then turn the music down. It's fun to do this just to get that look from him. Shortly after David had left on some adventure into the world the house became quiet again. So, I began to bring Mojo into the house more and more often. Usually he sleeps out in the courtyard. We have built a nice dog house for him there and he likes to drink from the fountain and dig in the little bed of flower's Louis had planted last spring. He and Louis have a love/hate relationship going. He doesn't trust Louis after that attempt on his life Louis made the first time they met. But Louis is guilt stricken over that of course and so he bribes Mojo mercilessly with bones and chewy toys that he finds on his nightly hunts. In return for these gifts Mojo will thump his tail when ever Louis appears and sniff him out for any presents he might have on his person. But if no gift appears he will find some item of great value to Louis and chew on it instead. It's a marvelous relationship and I think they understand eachother wonderfully. One stormy night Louis and I had been out together. A night on the town you might say. I asked Mojo if he wanted to be outside or in before we left. Of course he chose inside due to the rain. Such a smart dog. When we returned to the flat late that night it was a terrifying sight. Louis stood still in the center of the parlour and I stood in the doorway. It's hard to describe the redecoration that Mojo had taken it upon himself to do. First of all an entire chair was missing. Louis and I both stared at the empty spot where the chair had been. Mojo seemed thrilled to see us and show us what he had done. He sniffed out Louis first of course. "He's *your* dog." Louis stated flatly. His eyes were wide and angry as he glared at Mojo. "Bad dog!" Mojo backed off from him. He turned to me with his head down. "Where is the chair?!" I yelled at him as if he would magically talk and tell me. An entire leg of Louis' desk had been splintered and chewed up. The damask couch had seen better nights. "Look at that!" Louis pointed to the torn up couch, to the stuffing tossed every place. "He must of had great fun with that!" Apparently he blamed me for this. Mojo and I were both in hot water now. I suddenly wasn't so angry with him now, I might have done the same if I was a dog. "What did you think it was Mojo?" Louis was lecturing now, "A giant, never ending chewy?!" Mojo backed away now and glanced from me to Louis his tail hung on the floor. Millions of tiny feathers lay about the carpet and some still floated in the air from a torn pillow. Some of Louis' books had been torn and chewed and the remote for the entertainment system... I didn't think it was going to work any more after tonight. "Look at what you did!" Louis was in a rage. I took Mojo by the collar and pulled him down the hall, put him outside before Louis could make another attempt on his life. On my walk back to the parlour I found the old antique chair in the back parlour. I decided to tell Louis about the tooth marks in it later on. He sat on the unchewed side of the couch, head in his hands. "Birds are so much easier, Lestat." "But Louis, who would keep your nights full with redecorating then?" I put an arm around his shoulders. I picked some feathers from his soft hair. "I'll fix it all for you, Louis." I said. "I'll make it all nice again." "He hates me." "No he doesn't. He's just jealous." He thought about that for awhile. I started in on some of the easy cleaning, picked up some of the torn books and such. When I turned around Louis was gone from the couch. I listened and heard him oustide in the courtyard with Mojo. I went to spy upon them of course. I stood at the top of the steps and looked down. Louis sat on the edge of the fountain and Mojo was next to him, his head on Louis leg, his tail thumping on the grass as Louis stoked his ears and spoke to him softly. I didn't listen close enough for words but heard my name mentioned a few times. I think they came to an understanding because now Mojo only chews up my things when he's feeling left out.